Jesus of Nazareth: Guest Blogger

Jesus of Nazareth, by Bradley O'Neill

In the New Testament we find numerous names to describe who Jesus was and what he did. People called him prophet, savior, messiah, and even lord. But others called him fraud, phony, fake, and even liar. We know one thing for sure though; Jesus was a fabulous teacher and a great example to everyone. He helped the poor, told his stories of wisdom and power, and gave everyone that was around him hope. This is Jesus, the Teacher and the Example.

Jesus was a natural leader. He had many followers and also had 12 disciples that helped spread his word around the world. People looked to him for every piece of advice they could come up with. For one example, the story of Jesus counseling the rich, young ruler. This certain ruler asks Jesus a question everyone wants to know the answer to. He asks, “ Good teacher, what is the secret to eternal life?” Jesus responds with, “ Why do you call me Good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your mother and father.’”

This ruler replies, “ All these things I have kept from my youth.” Jesus said, “ But you missed one thing. Look at all that you have and distribute it among the poor. Then you shall have more than you could ever wish for in heaven.”

He was also a very wise man. He told one story to a group of people who needed some wisdom in their life. The story goes like this,

“ Once a man built his house on a foundation of stone. He dug through the sand to find this stone. Another man, his neighbor, decided it was too much work to dig through the sand and thought his neighbor was being ridiculous. So he decided to build his house right on top of the sand. Once they both were done, a big storm abruptly came into the area. The storm was very violent, and washed the man with his house and the foundation of sand, away. But the man with the foundation of stone, survived the storm and went out the next day to find his neighbor gone.”

Now who was smarter, the man with the foundation of stone or the man with the foundation of sand? My point exactly.

Jesus was very generous. He showed compassion and love to everyone around him. And when I say everyone, I mean, everyone. He gave to the poor, helped the weak, taught others of his truth, and gave everyone uplifting and hopeful teachings. Like the one story, where Jesus passed through Galilee and met ten lepers there. Now, lepers were considered gross, nasty, and disgusting. Not many people got near them. In fact, they had their own place to live when they got it. So when they saw Jesus, they asked him right away if they would cleanse him. Normally, if this were any other man on the street, they would be seen as a grody and sick group and he/she would start to walk in the other direction. But Jesus was different. He saw a group in need of help and healing and walked straight toward that group. He said, “Go, show yourself to the priests.” As they did this, they were cleansed on the way over there.

He was a very progressive thinker, or “radical”. You could almost think of him as the “rebel” of his day. He always said that there are no rules to get into heaven, only by grace alone you need. Now this was fantastic with a lot of people. But for some people, like the Pharisees, did not like this at all. For them it meant they would lose their role in society and their power. This is why many times the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ power and wisdom. Jesus would always give them an answer replying to their ignorance.

This is why, eventually, Jesus was arrested and betrayed by one of his own disciples. His disciple was sold out for gold and silver. He predicted that Peter, the one who betrayed him, would deny him 3 times after he is arrested. Which, was again, true. Once Jesus was captured he was sentenced to be crucified on a cross until death. Which happened, but as the story goes, he rose three days after his death. Then the Pharisees were in shock.

He was also very courageous. Although every odd was against him, he still fought for what was right. Like helping the sick, giving to the poor, giving women rights, etc. He also went against almost everything the Pharisees said. He stood in front of large crowds, fed 5,000 (as the story goes), and even stood in front of people that had the bodasity to kill someone with stones. One example is where a group of people with a couple of Pharisees brought in a woman who committed adultery. It says right in the Ten Commandments that no person should commit adultery. They wished to stone her. Although, Jesus had other plans for her. He drew a line in the sand, and said, “The person that has never sinned, please, cast the first stone.” And one by one, each member of the group left the temple. He looked to the sinner and said, “Everyone left. Go, sin no more.”

He had nothing, and yet he shared everything. He was selfless. Everything he got, he shared. His stories, his passion, his truth, his life, and his legacy. The only things he didn’t share were his pain, and his suffering. He took what should have been everyone else’s pain and kept it to himself on the cross. That was the biggest selfless act in the bible. He took all their acts of sin and wrongness and brought it up with him on the cross. Now if that’s not selfless, I don’t know what is.

He was a caring man. His love and kindness was an example to everyone around the world. He gave to the poor and showed love, kindness, and even hung out with the criminals of those days. The reason he did this is because he thought everyone deserved a second chance, and the way to get that was through his truth. For him it wasn’t just a saying, like “I’m Christian”. No, it was much more than that. It was a lifestyle. Not like rules and stuff, but living for God and doing everything in his name as much as you could. I’m a carpenter, and I do it in the name of Christ. I’m a blacksmith, and I do it in the name of Christ. I’m a teacher, and I do it in the name of Christ. That is what he wanted to hear. That was his legacy.

Jesus was a strong man. He never let anything get him down. He was tempted, tried convicted, teased, and even beaten, yet he still stuck for what he thought was right. He said that he would change the future world. And he has. Many people believe Jesus Christ was the risen savior, and many believe he was a good man. But it doesn’t matter. All we know is that Jesus was the greatest example the world has ever seen that has come to perfect. Jesus was an amazing leader, a great friend, and a great example for what everyone wants to be. Everyone says, “What would Jesus do?” Well, there’s a reason for that. Because he is, the example.

Finally, I talk about how Jesus affected the world today. He was the greatest influencer the world has ever seen. Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle all taught their philosophies. But none compare to Jesus’. He was the most renowned person to ever live. Today, more than 1/3 of the world believe in Jesus Christ. That’s more than 2.2 billion people! The reason he is so popular is because he brought peace, kindness, compassion, mercy, and everything this world didn’t have before him. Jesus always thought of others before him. He always stuck up for others. He was always kind and caring. He never backed down. This is, Jesus, the teacher and the example.